Toy Story That Time Forgot

In this 22-minute animated short from Disney-Pixar Studios things (IMO) get a little out of hand in the violence and destruction department. In fact - This picture pushes this matter too far for my liking. But, I guess in this jaded day and age the only way to keep even the little kiddies interested as viewers is to bombard them, non-stop, with ferocious, over-the-top demolition and what-not. Anyway - I just wish that the regular "Toy Story" gang (Buzz, Woody, and the rest) hadn't been brought into this heavy-duty "Battlesauric" game of war in the first place.

Am a big fan of Pixar, films and shorts, and the three 'Toy Story' films (the first of which being ground-breaking) are among my favourites from them as far as their feature films go. For me, none of their work is below mediocre (even my least favourite 'Cars 3'), though that is probably not going to be a popular opinion with the post-'Toy Story 3' films getting a lot of hate. Meanwhile their best work is masterpiece level, all three 'Toy Story' films being on that level. 'Toy Story that Time Forgot' has a very cheesy, corny title but the actual special itself is the opposite of that and it is not as muddled as it sounds. It is instead very charming, quite cute and has enough amusing moments, a good position to be for a special released around Christmas but not really one. It is nowhere near Pixar at its A-game, but there is nothing really here that disgraces them or the 'Toy Story' franchise. Part of me did feel though that 'Toy Story that Time Forgot' could have been longer than it was, which could have been used to give the original characters more screen time, and the pace can be uneven here, at times rushed. Bonnie also sounds rather mature for her age and it doesn't quite gel with her character design. On the other hand, there is an awful lot to like about 'Toy Story that Time Forgot'. The animation is very good for a television special made on a lower budget. Such beautiful attention to detail in the backgrounds and the character designs and the colours are so vibrant. The music more than serves its purpose well, with the right amount of energy and charming orchestration. Loved the writing, which saw some wonderful wit in the dialogue and it was both very funny and emotive. The story is very sweet and charming, and really liked that it showcased Trixie who had enough of an interesting, not annoying or too sugary, personality to be a worthy lead. The moral/message was delivered well, making its point without over-emphasising, and it was one that is relevant and important. Would have liked more of the original characters but they are still fun and likeable without being out of character at any point. The conflict is handled entertainingly and sensitively with enough tension without going over the top on it. The voice acting is very good excepting Bonnie. In summary, worth a look if not essential. 7/10

This-like most Toy Story media-is engaging with some smart observation about our relationship to toys. Trixie is given a rote character arch but it is works. The prehistoric dinosaur-toys are daft and rival Toy Story 1's Buzz for laughs. But if you have read the Land that Time Forgot you pick-up on several injokes about the novel that really fun.

A pleasure to watch. What was lacking for me in Toy Story of Terror was by all means in this one. It is short but packed with meaning. Displaying the tragedy of neglected toys in the face of a 'cool' video game, it continues the theme of the two Toy Story movies in an incredibly dramatic way: the magical imagination that blossoms with toys. The appreciation that the toys have for their owner is heightened in a highly creative way. Delightful depth and charm is infused in new characters. Laugh-out-loud lines were peppered throughout. Every cent spent on this short film was completely worth it. Will watch over and over again.

This 21 minute episode centers on Trixie who is having a slight identity crisis. They go play with other dinosaur toys who don't realize they are toys. They are war like and enjoy destroying other toys, which we get to see. Eventually it is all well that ends well, except for a few toys that were "killed." The message to children is unclear. The kids play with the toys doing some various dance moves, but clearly playing war and tearing things up seemed more fun. Certainly not worth a full DVD price.

After Toy Story 3, Pixar continued the story of Woody and Buzz through short cartoons, and even two holdiay specials. This is the second of the two specials, set after Christmas, where Woody, Buzz, Rex, Trixie, and Angel Kitty, an ornament who is exclusive to this special, for a playdate Bonnie has with her friend, Mason. As the two kids are hooked on a new video game console, the toys are taken hostage by the Battlesaurs, action figures led by Reptilus Maximus, and while Rex and Trixie are treated nicely, Buzz, Woody, and Angel Cat are sent to fight to the death at the arena, causing Trixie to see that her new friends were not played with, and therefore, do not know they are toys. Basically, like the first special, Toy Story of Terror, focused on Jessie conquering her fears, this special focuses on Trixie and her problem of Bonnie not playing with her as a dinosaur. Most of the cast from the film reprise their role (in fact, this would be Don Rickles' final movie before he would pass away in 2017). However, it does get violent at some points, even if the victims are all toys (one scene has Reptillus Maximus decapitating toys, while sock monkey is thrown out of the arena and mauled to death by smaller dinosaurs, with fluff flying out), but nothing too dark or scary happens (and since these are toys, there is no gore, other than fluff being spilled, and they are still alive even if their heads are knocked off). With a good story and cast of chatacters, as well as a good lesson Trixie teaches Reptillus, this is a neat TV special for the whole family.